Long Term
Recovery and Environmental Remediation
Organization- The First step:
In any
disastrous occurrence, the first stage of solving the problem is to
organize
and strategize. With this in mind, the
first goal after a tsunami hits is to form an agency that would oversee
all
tsunami relief efforts and ensure that each task is being accomplished
efficiently and effectively. With all
relief efforts carried out through this one agency, resources could be
easily
managed, multiple organizations would not undermine one another's
efforts, and
people would know where to go to address their needs and/or concerns
regarding
the disaster. It would be the
responsibility of the head-of-state to appoint members to such a group. As a guide, below is an outline for an ideal
group that would `be sufficiently staffed to tackle most foreseen
challenges
related to long-term tsunami relief and reconstruction.
-A government official who is
familiar with the government
policies and is significantly high ranked would be a representative for
the
government when decisions are to be made, and would also be beneficial,
as this
person should be capable of carrying out important decisions without
extensive
bureaucracy. Someone that fits this
description is the vice president of the country.
-Scientists would be necesssary to provide a
technical
perspective on the impacts that certain decisions would have on the
environment. Scientists from numerous
fields could be employed, but most
important in this situation would be ecologists and biologists, as the
ecosystem would have received extensive damage from the
disaster.
-Engineers are key leaders in the reconstruction
process. Inclusion of engineers on this
team would allow plans made by the agency to be reviewed for
feasibility and
sensibility. Engineers specifically
important
in this case would be civil engineers, electrical engineers, and
environmental
engineers.
-Management specialists would deal with the
logistics
involved in carrying out the plan. So
many people are involved in reconstruction, and so much money is to be
managed. These, among other problems,
would be handled
by management specialists, to ensure that the plans made and approved
by the
scientists, politicians, and engineers actually get carried out.
Under this
agency would also be a large number of recruited public workers to
actually
carry out the reconstruction efforts.
These workers would be people who are already under government
employ,
people who are without jobs (due to the tsunami), and any volunteers
(both from
inside and outside the country).The agency would be in charge of
assembling
this team of workers,
assigning jobs to each, briefing them on the procedures
to be taken, and paying any non-volunteer workers. The less
funding is available to pay workers,
the fewer people will be employed.
Although it would be ideal to have a large number of workers to
expedite
the recovery efforts, it is not necessary to have any specific number
of
people. A lower number of people simply
equates to a longer time to reconstruct (assuming the management team
is competent).
The first
task of this agency would be to lead an assessment of damage. The purpose of this damage assessment would
be to gage the extent of the damage and set priorities accordingly. This assessment should include the damages
incurred environmentally, the conditions of power, transportation, and
water in
various areas, as well as the extent of damage to buildings. While priorities would be set on a
case-by-case basis, the following is an outline of what we feel should
be
prioritized. Actual priorities should
vary based on the assessment made by the agency.
Included in
this damage assessment is the decision of whether an area should
be reconstructed or not.
If a particular area faces an alarming rate of disaster
occurrences,
reconstruction may not be advisable in that area. If
this is the case, the agency should keep
the following questions in mind:
- Does the area present an economic
advantage (is it an important port, like as New
Orleans). Does
this economic benefit outweigh the cost of the damage that will occur
in the
future?
- How much would it cost to move the
population of that area?
- Is there any place to which the
population can be moved?
- Do the people actually want to
move (some may refuse to leave due to cultural ties or sentimental
reasons)?
- By removing people from their
homes, they will lose their land. Will
the government be able and willing to compensate the people for the
land they
have just lost?